a.Reduce their current fees, keep to a monthly fee cap of $800 and $1,400 (excluding GST) for full-day child care and infant care respectively, and ensure any fee increases are kept affordable for parents.

b.Invest in improving quality through the Singapore Pre-school Accreditation Framework (SPARK), and in headquarter capabilities.

c.Support continuing professional development and career progression opportunities for EC professionals.

For further enquiries, please contact sector_funding@ecda.gov.sg​ and provide us with your query and contact details, or call our hotline at 67359213.

HOW WILL YOU BENEFIT FROM THE POP SCHEME?

All POP centre must keep their fees within the fee cap under the POP scheme. The fee cap applies to full/half-day child or infant care programme for Singaporean children and is illustrated below:

Programme

​Fee Cap (before GST)

Full day child care

$800

Half day child care

$600

Full day infant care

$1,400

Half day infant care

$1,000

2. Why is there a minimum size requirement of 300 child care places?

The POP scheme has a minimum size requirement to encourage economies of scale and career progression for teachers. ECDA will further support POPs in strengthening HQ capabilities for better coordination and resource sharing. Smaller operators may partner others to submit expressions of interest as a group. ​

Selection of POPs and Future Plans 3. How were the POPs selected? What were the evaluation criteria?

The POPs were selected through an open and competitive process, based on the strength of their proposals and track record.

4. What is the POP scheme duration? Will there be an extension of the scheme after 5 years?

Operators selected to be POPs will receive funding support from Year 2016 – 2020. We will evaluate the need for extension at the end of the appointment, taking into consideration the outcomes of the scheme.

5. Will ECDA allow the appointed POP to open new centres so as to benefit more parents?

Addition of new centres or expansion plans by each operator will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ECDA will consider the POP’s ability to meet the scheme requirements for all their participating centres.​

6. Would ECDA open a second round of applications?

ECDA will monitor the implementation of the scheme before considering whether another round of applications is necessary.​